Phuket’s daily world news round-up – Saturday 8th December 2012

THAILANDbangkokpost.com – Abhisit: ‘I will fight’
The Democrat leader and his former deputy are ready to accept the death penalty – they say – but their consciences are clear, and they say justice should prove they only restored peace.

bangkokpost.com – King makes merit
His Majesty visited the memorial park and museum dedicated to the Princess Mother, and also a merit-making ceremony at Wat Anongkharam.

bangkokpost.co – Changing the playbook
A new strategy may be emerging on amending the constitution: kill the current bill, and start again, with input from the Democrats and the public.

nationmultimedia.com – Samui, Pha-ngan blackouts cause Bt1.2 bn in losses, BOT says
Three days of power failures on the resort islands of Samui and Pha-ngan have caused damages worth Bt1.2 billion, the central bank announced yesterday.

bangkokpost.com – New arms raid
Nine years after a weapons raid sparked southern violence, 40 armed insurgents raided a village arsenal in Pattani and stole the militia’s rifles.

bbc.co.uk – Blaze factory had no fire permit
A Bangladeshi garment factory where a blaze last month killed at least 110 people did not have a valid fire safety certificate, a top official says.

bangkokpost.com – Laos a step closer to WTO
Laos has ratified its membership in the World Trade Organization, state media said on Friday, the latest step in the country’s 15-year effort to join the global body.

bbc.co.uk – Philippine President Aquino visits typhoon-hit area
President Benigno Aquino has travelled to areas in the southern Philippines devastated by a powerful typhoon that struck earlier this week.

news.com.au – Philippine camps overflow after typhoon
The Philippine government has vowed action to prevent storm disasters in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha.

bbc.co.uk – Police arrest mafia boss in Bali
Italian and Indonesian police arrest a wanted Sicilian mafia boss living in a luxury resort on the Indonesian island of Bali.

UKbbc.co.uk – Kate hoax call nurse found dead
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge say they are “deeply saddened” by the death of a nurse who took a hoax call about the duchess’s condition.

news.com.au – Fewer UK patients dying from cancer
Fewer people are dying from cancer in the UK despite an increase in the numbers being diagnosed, figures show.

bbc.co.uk – Eight hurt in loyalist protests
Eight police officers are injured and four people arrested following clashes between loyalists and riot police across Northern Ireland.

AFRICAbbc.co.uk – Cairo activists break army cordon
Egyptian protesters break through a security cordon outside the presidential palace, as the opposition rejects a call for dialogue by President Morsi.

news.com.au – Egypt delays early voting on constitution
Mohammed Morsi’s government has postponed voting in an apparent sign it is prepared to back down and give room to negotiations with the opposition.

MID-EASTbbc.co.uk – Hamas chief Meshaal visits Gaza
The political leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, calls his first ever visit to the Gaza Strip his “third birth”.

news.com.au – Syria clashes amid chemical weapons fears
Fighting continues to rage in the Syrian capital as fears mount over chemical weapons and the US calls for a concerted effort to end the fighting.

bbc.co.uk – Syria rebels aim to seize airport
Rebels in Syria say they aim to capture Damascus international airport, as fighting with government forces around the capital intensifies.